| Act of sovereignty | Swiss "direct democracy" | U.S.-European "representative democracy" |
| Pass a law | People may have direct vote | People have no direct role |
| Challenge a law passed by parliament or congress | People can do directly (referendum) | People cannot do directly; a law can be challenged only through their representatives |
| Pass a treaty | Requires popular vote | No role for popular vote at all unless government desires it as a special measure |
| Alter the constitution | People can do directly with no elite support (initiative) and must approve for any change to be made | Some elite must initiate (Congress or convention) and a direct popular vote plays no role (ratification is by 3/4 of state legislatures) |
| Choose chief executive | People vote only through parliament | People vote directly (in some countries) or more directly (in the U.S.) |
| Send criminal to jail | People through a randomly selected jury | People through a randomly selected jury |
| Confer citizenship | Popular (communal or cantonal) vote | Decision of magistrate (usually unelected) |
| Declare federal law unconstitutional | Arguably impossible; in practice happens only when constitution is altered—which requires a popular vote | Can be done by unelected court (U.S., Germany, France, other) |